Platen printing-machine



(Model. I 3S1Iets-Sheet 1. 0. M. HOWARD.

PLATBN PRINTING MACHINE. No. 355.171. Paten te WITNESSES N, PEIERS. Pholoiilhognpher. Washington, a c

0. M,.-HOWARD. PLATEN PRINTING MACHINE.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(ModeL') Patente e0. 28, 1886,.

WITNESSES R. puns Photo-Lflhognpher. Walhinghm. n c

UNITED STATES PATENT ORANGE M. HOW'ARD, OF SPENCER, INDIANA.

PLATEN PRINTING-MACHINE.-

SPBCIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 355,171, dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed May 8, 1886.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ORANGE M. HOWARD, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of Spencer, in the county of Owen and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Platen Printing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a side view of my improved printing-press, showing it adapted to operated by hand-power. Fig. 2 is a view of the opposite sideof the press, showing the impression being taken. Fig. 3isatop view of the press, showing the platen resting over the bed. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the platen raised and broken away at the arms. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the press. Fig. 6 is a perspective-detail view of thegrippers and of the arms carrying them; and Fig. 7 is a side view of the press, adapted to be operated by any suitable power. I

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to that class of printing-presses in which the platen is secured to arms pivoted at their ends, and having means for rocking the platen so as to bring it to bear against the type upon the bed and to remove it from it; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such a press having a horizontal bed, and having the platen secured upon pivoted arms having their fulcra at one end of the bedframe, and means for drawingthe platen down upon the bed and for raising it from the bed, and having means for carrying the sheets over the bed and for carrying them back to a fly, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letters A A indicate the side pieces of the frame, which side pieces are of any desired shape and supported in any suitable manner, being preferably made open, for the purpose of decreasing the weight of the entire press. The

upper horizontal edges of the side pieces are formed with raised horizontal portions B B,

Serial No. 201,585. (Modek) and the bed 0 is secured between the upper edges of the side pieces, flush with the upper edge of the same, and extending the length of the raised portions of the edges.

A main shaft, D, is journaled with its ends in bearings E E in the side pieces, near the niiddles of the lower portions of the side' pieces, and the outer ends of this rock-shaft have two upwardly-extending arms, F F, secured to them, one of the said arms being provided with a handle, G. whereby it may be manipulated. The rock -sh aft is provided upon its inner portion, inside of the bearings, with arms H H, projecting upward, and rods I I are pivoted to the upper ends of these arms and slide adjust-ably in perforations in heads K, pivoted to the ends of the levers L, to the curved upper ends of which the platen M is secured. These levers are fulcrumed upon a transverse rod or shaft, N, secured in the side pieces near the upper corners, the rod pass ing through the levers near their lower ends, and the arms are curved in such a manner that the platen will be brought to bear against the form placed upon the bed when the curved levers are tiltedby the arms upon the rock-shaft. v

The upper portions of the arms F F upon the ends of the rock-shaft are grooved longitudinally upon the inner sides, and boxes or bearings O O slide in these grooves P, having,

springs Q secured to their lower ends and to the lower ends of the grooves, for the purpose of drawing the bearings downward, and the shaft R of the grippers S has its ends secured in the bearings, and has rollers T T journaled upon its ends and traveling upon the raised portions of the upper edges of the side pieces. The gripperplate U is fixedly secured to the shaft, and the grippers are journaled with their inner ends upon the shaft and have a spiral spring, V, secured to them and to the shaft, forcing them down against the plate.

The ends of the bar \V, which connect the inner ends of the grippers, are formed into cranks X X, having a slight downward inclination when the grippers are held closed against the plate. Wedge-shaped lugs YY project from the inner sides of the raised portions of the side pieces, so that when the rock ing arms are operated, and the grippershaft with them, the said cranks will be engaged by the points of the wedge-shaped lugs and be tilted downward by the inclined lower sides of the lugs, raising the grippers and allowing them to release one sheet of paper and to receive another sheet, whereupon they will close again, the cranks slipping off from the rear ends of the lugs in one direction and sliding over them in the opposite direction.

Bands or strips of metal Z, preferably of steel or similar flexible metal, are secured at their ends to the edge of the gripperplate and to a roller, A, journaled with its ends in the side pieces at the rear edge of the bed. These bands are wound upon the roller by means of the weights attached to the lower ends of the cords or bands B, which are secured to and wound upon the roller, theband Z being wound upon the roller as the cords B are unwound from it.

A fly, D, has its shaft journaled in the side pieces, and has its slats or teeth projecting toward the roller when raised, and the slotted end of a connecting-rod, E, slides with its longitudinal slot F upon a bolt, G, upon the fly-shaft, and has its forward end pivoted to the arm H upon the rock-shaft.

The inking-rollers H are journaled with their ends in brackets I, projecting from the bearings for the gripper-shalt, and are provided with guide-rollers J J upon their ends, traveling upon the raised'portions of the side pieces, and the fountain-roller K is journaled in the side pieces of the bed, revolving in the fountain L, which is supported below it, so that the inking-rollers may come in contact with the fountain-roller when they arrive at that portion of the machine.

One end of the fountain-roller is provided with a ratchet-wheel, M; and a pawl, N, upon one of the curved platen-arms, engages this ratchet-wheel, and will serve to move it forward for the space of one tooth at each tilt of the platen-arms.

The platen is provided with two laterallyprojecting lugs, O O, attthe middle of its side edges, the said lugs being preferably the projecting ends of atransverse rod or bar secured across the upper side of the platen, and these lugs may be engaged by the upper hooked ends, I P, of two arms, Q Q. One of these arms is pivoted at its lower end to the shorter arm of a lever, B, and the other one to one end of a diskor arm, S, said lever and arm being secured to the opposite ends of the rockshaft T, j ournaled in hearings in the side pieces of the frame.

The arms Q Q have connecting-rods U U, pivoted to them near their middle and to the arms F F, carrying the grippers and inkingrollers, and the upper ends of the arms Q Q, near the hooked ends, are provided with forwardly-projectin g and upwardly-inclined lugs V V, the forward ends of which project beyond the ends of the hooks and serve to receive thelaterally-projectinglugs of the platen, guiding them into the hooks and gradually ,letting the platen down, preventing it from dropping upon the form upon the bed and injuring the type; and it will be seen that when the platen is tilted down and has been engaged by the hooks the lever It is raised, which operates the shaft T and the disk S, thus drawing the arms Q Q downward and causing the platen to press against the form and to take the impression.

The arms carrying the grippers and the inking -rollers are preferably bulged out about their middles, as shown at W, for the purpose of allowing them to be drawn over the inner or lower ends of the arms and the lever upon the rocking shaft.

inclined table, X, from which the sheets to be fed into the press are taken, the sheets resting upon the table. 7

When the press is to be driven by power applied to a revolving shaft, the drive-shaft Y isjournaled in the end of the machine below the feed-table, having a wheel, Z, to which the revolving motion may be imparted by any suit able means, and this shaft is provided with a pinion, A, which meshes with a cog-wheel, B, to the face of which a pitman, O, is pivoted, which pitman is pivoted at its forward end to one of the arms carrying the grippers and inking-rollers, or two pitmen are pivoted at both ends of the shaft carrying the cogwheel, and are pivoted to both arms. The impression-hooks are operated by means of a pitmansecured at one end to an eccentric upon the shaft Y and at the other to the lever B.

It will be seen that when the form is in place upon the bed and the lower face of the platen has been prepared to make an even impres sion from the form, the paper may be fed to the grippers, which will be opened when their Wedgeshaped lugs, and upon being tilted forward the arms will carry the grippers forward, which have in the meantime been closed by their spring,- the crank being released, and the grippers will draw the sheet of paper with them, the sheet resting upon the bands secured to the gripper-plate and winding upon the roller, the said bands in unwinding winding the weighted bands upon the roller and raising the weight. The platen will be drawn over the bed bythe time the sheet has been carried over the bed and form and the inclined lugs upon the hooked arms have received the lugs of the platen, breaking the force of its fall and guiding the lugs into the hooks, whereupon the hooked arms may be drawn down, drawing the platen down with them and making the impression. The stroke or tilt of the platen may be adjusted by adjustingthe rods, connecting its lower arms to the arms upon the rock-shaft in the heads pivoted to the lower ends of the platen-arms; and the forceof the impression may be regulated in the press, when it is driven by rotary power, by adjusting the length of the connecting-rod between the gripper-carrying arm and the le- One end of the frame is provided with an arms are tiltedback, the cranks engaging the ver. The sheet will travel upon the bands when the impression has been made and when the gripper-arms are tilted, the bands carrying the sheet over the ends of the arms of the fly, which will be tilted at the latter part of the tilt of the gripper-carrying arms, placing the sheet upon its pile, in the usual manner.

The entire'press may be made very lightin proportion to thepower which it will develop, as the platen will be re-enforeed by the ends of the arms extending over theends of the platen and by the transverse bar or rod eX- tending across the platen, upon which rod the pressure in making the impression will be eX- erted, and the bed may bemade comparatively light, with diagonal ribs or similar re-enforcing means, and the frame may be made open and light, so that the machine may be comparatively light, there being but very few moving parts in the press.

The feeding and delivery of the sheets'npon the bed and form being automatic, the machine may print a comparativelylarge number of impressions in a given time, as the press may be run as fast as the sheets may be fed to the grippers and the platen may be tilted and depressed. g

The press may be made of any size, and may be employed for any kind of printing, being on account of its lightness and simplicity especiall y adapted for job-printing or similarlight printing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a printing-press, the combination of a horizontal bed, two levers pivoted at one end of the press, a platen secured to the curved upper ends of said levers and heads pivoted to the lower ends, a shaftjournaled under the bed and having upwardly-projecting arms and means for rocking it, and rods pivoted to the upper ends of thesaid arms and secured adj ustablyin the heads pivoted to thelower ends of the curved levers, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. In a printing-press, the combination of a horizontal bed, a set of grippers, bands secured to them, a roller having the ends of the bands secured to it, and a platen secured upon curved arms pivoted at one end of the machine, and means, substantially as described, for operating said roller and said platen, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

3. In a printing-press, the combination of two side pieces having horizontal upper edges and having raised portions upon the said upper edges, a horizontal bed placed between the side pieces flush with their upper edges and at the raised edges of the same, a rock-shaft having arms at its ends formed with longitudinal grooves upon their inner sides, bearings sliding in the said grooves and having springs drawing them downward, a shaft secured in the bearings and having grippers provided with means for opening them at one end of the bed and having rollers at its ends traveling upon the raised portions of the edges of the frame-pieces, a roller j ournaled parallel to one end of the bed and having cords wound around it, provided with a weight at their other ends, being secured to the roller at the inner ends, bands secured to the grippers and to the roller upon which they are wound, and a platen having means for tilting it over the bed when the groovedarms are tilted forward and for raising it when the arms are tilted back, as and for the purpose shown and set forth,

horizontal bed, a platen secured to curved le-' vers' pivoted near one end of the bed and hooked arms engaging lugs projecting from the sides of the platen, and means, substantially as described, for drawing said arms downward, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

6. In a printing-press, the combination of a horizontal bed, a platen having laterally-projecting lugs at the middles of its side edges, a rock-shaft journaled .below the bed and, hav ing a lever at one end and an eccentric disk or arm at the other end, and hooked arms pivoted at the lower ends to the inner end of the 'lever and to the disk or arm and engaging the lugs upon the platen with their hooked upper ends, as and for the purposeshown and setforth.

7 In a printingpress, the combination of a platen having laterally-projecting lugs upon its side edges, with arms having hooked upper ends and having forwardly and upwardly] projecting inclined lugs below the hooks, longer than the hooks, and having means, substantially as described, for drawing the said arms downward and for tilting them, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

8. In a-printing-press, the combination of a horizontal bed, a platen having means for tilting it forward and back over the bed and having laterally-projecting lugs upon its side edges, levers having the fulcrum below the bed, a rock-shaft journaled below the bed and having hooked arms pivoted eccentrieally at the ends of the same engaging the lugs of the platen, a lever secured to the shaft, and conmeeting-rods pivoted to the rocking arms and to the hooked arms, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

upon it in opposite direction to the other bands and having weights attached" to their free ends, and a fly having the upper ends of its arms bearing against the roller, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

10. In a printingpress, the combination of a horizontal bed, a rock shaft journaled below the bed and having two arms at its outer ends and two upwardly-projecting arms inside of its bearings, a platen secured to the curved upper ends of two levers pivoted near the lower ends at a distance from one end of the bed, connecting-rods pivoted to the upper ends of the 'upwardly-projecting. rock-arms and to the lower ends of the platen-arms, a set of grippers'secured at the upper ends of the arms, at the outer ends of the rock-shaft, and having means for opening them at one end of the bed, a roller at that end of the bed having cords wound around it and provided with weights at their free ends, bands secured to the set of grippers and to the roller winding upon it-in the opposite direction to the weighted bands, a fly journaled below the roller to the rear of the same and having the ends of itsarms or fingers bearing against the rear side of the roller, and a connecting-rod having a longitudinally-slotted head sliding upon a bolt upon the end of the fly-shaft, and having its forward end pivoted to one of the rock-arms, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

11. In a printing-press, the combination of a horizontal bed having diagonal ribs upon its under side, with a platen having the forwardly-curved ends of a pair of arms secured across the ends, and having the arms pivoted near the lower ends at a distance from one side of the bed, having means for rocking the arms, and having a transverse bar bearing with its ends over the ends of the arms and projecting beyond the ends of the platen, and arms having hooked upper ends engaging the ends of the bar and having means for depressing them, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ORANGE M. HOWARD.

\Vitnesses:

WM. LECI-IER, LoUIs BAGGER. 

